From Behind Bookshelves
by aphpenmark
Summary: Toris runs a small bookshop named Nooks and Books, and recounts all of the customers they've grown fond of- especially a curious new customer named Feliks. (Lietpol, EstFin on the side, and platonic AmeLiet.)- includes transgender and queer characters, written because we need more happy stories about queer kids.


If there was one thing Toris prided themselves in, it was their bookstore and their ability to organize and sort. Now, you wouldn't think it took much talent to run a bookstore, but it certainly did in the mind of a nineteen year old Lithuanian. They had to dust the shelves and alphabetize _after _they've sorted each book into the right section, and they had to look friendly and comforting so people would keep coming in to get more books, and they needed to speak to people daily which was a struggle in itself. Really, in short, running a bookstore took an extraordinary talent and perseverance. Luckily, for Toris, it had always been their dream, so they pushed through the troubles.

Toris, of course, knew every person who had ever walked through the doors, signaling a bell to ring as they crossed the threshold into the cramped shop. Toris liked to line every space possible with shelves stacked with books, as to provide the most selection for all of their customers. They wouldn't come in second and have customers leaving disappointed as their favorite book wasn't to be found in some mediocre selection of poorly cared for books! Everyone who ventured into Nooks and Books found a warm smile and a courteous owner, willing to help them find any book they could ever dream of. Books on knitting and crime and mystery and fiction and books for kids who felt they didn't belong because no other book stores had books featuring people just like them- but Toris had them. They had even written a few themselves, when there really wasn't a book out there to satisfy a customer.

The Lithuanian had found the best way to run a store is to feel like a parent to both the store and the customers.

The customer they had grown most attached to was a young man named Alfred F Jones. He was only fifteen, but he had a love of reading and learning unmatched by any other kids that entered Nooks and Books. His first visit was to find books on space, and he had found more than he was looking for. He stayed the whole day, reading through book after book on space and physics and science and astrology and fiction about other planets- he couldn't get enough of it. The next day he returned, in search of books on mathematics. The next few weeks, Toris swore he read the entire science and math section, and he still wanted more.

This 'more' he wanted didn't really have much to do with his earlier interests though, but it was curiosity all the same.

"Do you have any books on kids who don't really feel like girls or boys?" Alfred asked, but for once, Toris couldn't deliver. They found all they could and sent Al on their way, but they felt as though they had left Alfred down. When Alfred returned, they handed him a small book, filled with all of their own thoughts on the subject.

"I thought you said you didn't have any more?" Alfred had questioned them, confused but satisfied nonetheless.

"I'll always have more when you need them." They answered, giving him a soft smile. Ever since Toris had opened their store, all they wanted to do was provide comfort and knowledge, and for the first time in a while they felt as though they had accomplished that goal.

Customers at Nooks and Books tended to be the same set of people, just rotating on a different schedule each week. Toris knew each by name, and what books they all liked. They remembered which of them were quiet, and which liked small talk, and which came in more for Toris and the comfort of company rather than the books.

Eduard was one to come in for company. He always asked for advice, the few rare times he appeared each month. It had taken time for him to warm up to the owner, but he felt he could consider them a friend after coming by the tenth time.

"I've got this friend, Timo, and I think I may be in a precarious situation with them right now, on the verge of the relationship shattering or solidifying itself." He confessed on his twenty third visit, sipping hot chocolate worriedly by the counter as Toris listened. "I don't really know if I'm in love with her or if he's just an extremely close friend or if there's even any use in asking them considering I have no clue of her feelings for me. It's all very complicated."

Eduard tended to worry more than necessary about small things, and not nearly enough about the big things. He hadn't batted an eyelash when he was told he wouldn't be able to walk anymore, and he took to his wheelchair with ease- but the moment Tiina smiled at him, he needed a moment to recollect his thoughts and visit Toris to vent out his frustrations.

"I don't see any harm in asking them." Toris never offered any profound advice or insight, but just hearing suggestion seemed to help work out a solution in Eduard's mind.

Eduard pondered his situation for a moment before taking in a deep breath, speaking quickly as not to allow himself to back out of his words.

"I'll talk to him tomorrow."

It was once in a blue moon when new customers came into Nooks and Books. This blue moon happened on a rainy Sunday night, when a beautiful girl ran in out of the rain and into the shop (nearly colliding with a stack of books Toris was shelving), looking bewildered and shocked.

"Oh, crap, sorry!" She backed up against the door to avoid any unnecessary contact as Toris jumped up from their position on the floor.

"It's no problem, I didn't realize anyone would be coming in tonight." They tried to calm the air, sneaking back behind the counter to safety, leaving their unfinished project behind. Toris could finish it in the morning, they decided. "Do you need any help finding anything, miss..?"

"Fe." She shook her head nervously, ducking behind a bookshelf to avoid Toris's gaze. "And I'm fine on my own, no need to worry!"

She was an odd customer, barely even looking at the books as she passed them, avoiding Toris at all costs. Toris decided she was probably just shy, and returned to their work. Minutes passed and Fe stayed silent, tiptoeing through the rows of books until she made her way back to the door. As soon as the rain let up, she escaped without another word.

Despite the minimal interaction, she was added to Toris's list of customers, noting that she was "shy, jumpy, and doesn't like small talk", hoping they may have a chance to use the notes on some later date. It wasn't as if Toris just wanted to stare at her more, but that she seemed as though she had things to say, and they could provide the perfect person to say them too.

It was another month before he returned, under a new name.

"Welcome back." Toris smiled as he walked through the door, looking nervous as he had before, but more curious than jumpy. "Fe, wasn't it?"

"Feliks, this time." He answered, looking slightly more at ease at being recognized. It gave off an air of comfort, being a regular in the store.

Toris only nodded with a smile before Feliks had disappeared behind a shelf, mirroring his actions from the previous visit. However, this time around, there was a difference. As soon as Toris looked up to check if the man needed assistance, he saw Feliks peering at them through a hole from a missing book.

They couldn't help but chuckle at the action, muttering to him, "Can I help you?"

As the question passed their lips Feliks disappeared again, blush flashing past the crack before the book slammed back into place.

"I'm fine!"

It took exactly 53 days for Fe to become comfortable around Toris. On day 54 she was more lively than you could imagine, laughing and chatting with them about their day as though that was how had things had been since the first day she came in. Toris didn't mind at all, really, they admired the way she slipped into a routine with themselves.

Mondays Feliks brought in coffee for the both of them, and he sat with Toris behind the desk, greeting customers as they entered, all the rest of the day telling Toris stories about Poland and what it was like there growing up. Tuesdays they ate ice cream when Toris got off work, and it was Toris' turn to talk. Normally they liked to talk about the customers like Alfred and all of the friends they made, although sometimes they told stories about their childhood (never ending very happily, but it was a chance to clear their head of all of the bad memories they carried). Wednesdays Fe couldn't come- they spent the day working at the farmer's market selling flowers to scrape by their income- but they always waved from across the street in their booth, and offered up a smile. Thursdays were movie nights for laughing and joking, and discovering what a good cook Toris could be (prompting various jokes about the rhyming nature of all of Toris' interests. Fridays were for lazy days in the store, Feliks laying out on the armchair reading magazines and Toris writing stories that had been requested of them, reading aloud to Fe whenever they got the chance.

The 85th day, a Friday morning, Feliks decided to break the routine. He ducked behind a shelf the moment he ran in, seeming back to his prior nervous self. A laugh could be heard from him as he pulled out a book and peered through, but it was worried, rather than carefree.

"Good morning…?" Toris couldn't help but laugh curiously themselves.

"Feliks, today!" He laughed a little louder, pushing the book back into place and peering out of a new location. "What book did I pull out, Toris?"

It was days like this when Toris thanked their impeccable organization and memory skills that had allowed them to open the shop in the first place.

"_The Art of Questioning _by H. Smith" Toris recalled after a moment, as Feliks hopped to a new location, a few rows back.

"And this one?"

"_Romance: A Step Forward or a Step Back"_ They answered on instinct, eyebrows knit together curiously. "What's all this about?"

"Just tell me what this last one says!" Feliks shouted from the back of the store, tugging a book off of the shelf and looking through, face beet red as the first time he spied on the owner. "It's a puzzle, you can put it together."

"_Take a Hint." _Toris felt their face light up to make Feliks', shoving their hands deep into their pockets like they always did when they were nervous. "I'm not sure I'm getting the hint."

"Do you want to go on a date?" Feliks smiled, peering around the corner to face Toris directly. "Basically, I mean. In the greater context it's like 'I really really like you, you nerd, take the hints I've been dropping', but the short term request is a date."

Toris remembered every one of the customers that walked through the door, but even after all of them, the one they remembered most was Feliks.

"I'd love to."


End file.
